Many fabric products, such as curtains, valances, and drapes, include a decorative cover fabric stitched to a liner fabric. The liner fabric, which is typically a lighter fabric than the cover fabric, is attached to the cover fabric for various reasons. For instance, when incorporated into curtains, the liner fabric adds weight to the curtain improving the drape characteristics. The liner fabric also improves the ability of the curtain to block out sunlight and other light rays. Further, the liner fabric generally serves to improve the overall aesthetic appearance of the cloth article.
One common manner in which lined curtains are made is to attach the liner fabric to the cover fabric along the top edges and the side edges, but not along the bottom edges. For instance, FIG. 1 illustrates a lined curtain product made in this manner. As shown, the liner fabric is hemmed to the cover fabric along each side edge and is sewn to the cover fabric along a top edge. The bottom edge of the liner fabric, however, is hemmed separately from the cover fabric. This arrangement is commonly referred to as an open hem construction.
Curtains having an open hem construction offer various advantages. For instance, an open hem construction, in many applications, improves the drape characteristics of the curtain. For instance, through the use of an open hem construction, the liner fabric is prevented from crimping or otherwise distorting the cover fabric when hung. The open hem construction allows the liner fabric to float independently of the cover fabric. For example, if the liner fabric were attached at every edge to the cover fabric, any irregularity may cause the liner fabric to react against the cover fabric adversely effecting the appearance of the curtain.
Currently, in making curtains with an open hem construction, the liner fabric and cover fabric, after being measured in size, are first hemmed separately along a bottom edge. Next, the side edges of the liner fabric and cover fabric are folded over and hemmed together. Finally, an appropriate header is sewn into the top of the curtain. The header, for instance, can be designed to accept a curtain rod or to mate with clips used to hang the curtain.
Unfortunately, the above described method for making curtains with open hem constructions is time consuming and is very labor intensive, escalating the costs of producing the fabric products. For example, most curtains and draperies of this type must be made almost entirely by hand. More particularly, the prior art is deficient in providing an automated or semi-automated process for manufacturing curtains and other lined fabric products that include an open hem construction. The above described method of making open hemmed curtains is simply not well adapted for use with automated fabric processing systems that are currently available in the marketplace.